Choice of staterooms on QM2

[Bennybluehat]

We are planning our 2nd transatlantic btb on QM2 in 2020 but I’m having difficulty booking any of the staterooms we would prefer. On the Cunard website it only gives you a choice of 4 rooms & when I put in an exact room number they are always not available. I remember something like this happened last time we booked & eventually more rooms did become available. Does anyone know why this happens & at what point will we have a bigger selection to choose from?

[canoncruiser]

Book through a good TA-they can get the room you want if it’s available. Bon Voyage

[MCC retired]

A Good TA will also get you a better rate and/or amenities than booking in  direct.

[Underwatr]

6 hours ago, Bennybluehat said:

Does anyone know why this happens & at what point will we have a bigger selection to choose from?

 

If you're trying to book the b2b under one booking number, realize that only certain staterooms are allocated to the b2b. Others will be allocated to the eastbound and/or westbound crossings making up your b2b.

 

If you're willing to do some investigation you might discover that certain staterooms are available for both segments individually but not (yet) allocated to the b2b. A TA with good standing with Cunard may be able to get rooms allocated for the individual crossings bookable at the b2b rate.

[Bennybluehat]

Thanks for all of your replies, it looks like a trip to the travel agents is in need or do you think booking directly over the telephone with Cunard would also be effective?

[sfbearcat]

Before last year whenever I looked for a crossing  I would always check the Cunard website for cabin location availability and was able to see all open rooms/suites in a particular grade...No more ..at best they only show 7 or less...I dislike this new inventory control they now work with..Even Calling Cunard direct at times will get you the same open results...when one of the cabins has sold a new cabin number will replace it..Forget the new website..its a very poor version of the Princess booking system

Edited January 21, 2019 by sfbearcat
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[Jack E Dawson]

Bennybluehat,

I'm not sure what is best for you but I will share my experience with you on the two QM2 trans-Atlantic crossings we have taken (2017 & 2018). Initially, I booked directly with Cunard, taking advantage of a promotion that was going on. When the Cunard agent asked me if I would be transferring the booking to a TA, I didn't quite understand. She then explained that most people who make a direct booking with Cunard will then transfer the booking over to a TA for the purpose of getting credit card point promotions and to let the TA sort through the details. I felt guilty about doing this since the Cunard agent had been so helpful but she assured me it was alright to do so. Since I was going to pay for the trip on my United Airlines Visa card, I contacted their travel service. The TA then got me a 30,000 point bonus plus 7X points per dollar for the booking. She then did an outstanding job handling the reservation including getting my wife and I a great cabin. When we did our second crossing last year, we followed the same process and again, the Cunard agent assured me that it was fine to transfer the booking to our TA.

I am very new to cruising and still learning the tricks of the trade but have benefited immensely from the advice found on Cruise Critic.

 

Jack

[Underwatr]

1 hour ago, sfbearcat said:

No more ..at best they only show 7 or less..

 

That's surprising, because my experience with the new Cunard website is that they show all available inventory (which may seem limited due to Cunard selling the same segments as part of several itineraries with limited/no overlap between inventory among the itineraries).

[bluemarble]

3 hours ago, Underwatr said:

That's surprising, because my experience with the new Cunard website is that they show all available inventory (which may seem limited due to Cunard selling the same segments as part of several itineraries with limited/no overlap between inventory among the itineraries).

 

What I have been seeing on the new US website is that Cunard is showing a maximum of 10 cabins available for any particular combination of cabin type, deck, and section.

 

For example, here is what the new Cunard US website is showing for the availability of sheltered balconies in the "Mid" section of deck 6 for the 7-night October 23-30, 2020 crossing on QM2.

 

 

On the other hand, here is what one of the big US cruise booking websites is showing for availability on their website.

 

 

The Cunard US website will allow me to select any of those other available cabins (such as 6170) when I enter that cabin number into the "Search for a specific room number" field. And even some of the other cabins further forward such as 6140 can also be selected by entering their numbers into the "Search for a specific room number" field.

 

Of course this is just one example, but I am able to repeat the pattern on other decks, other sections, and other voyages (although so far I have limited my research to QM2 voyages).

 

Note this is not Cunard showing a limit of 10 cabins per an entire grade of cabin, but rather a limit of 10 cabins per each different combination of type of cabin, deck, and section.

 

My example above is for cabin grade BU on deck 6 of QM2. I also see exactly 10 cabins showing as available for that same grade of cabin on deck 5 and an additional 10 cabins showing as available on deck 4 on the Cunard US website (for a total of 30 available BU cabins).

 

Similarly, for cabin grade BV which is split between the "Mid-Forward" and "Mid-Aft" sections on QM2, I am seeing exactly 10 cabins available on each of decks 4, 5, and 6 in both the Mid-Forward and the Mid-Aft sections on the Cunard US website (for a total of 60 available BV cabins).

 

Now of course all it will take to demonstrate that I am wrong about this is for someone to come up with a diagram displayed during the new Cunard US booking process that shows more than 10 cabins available for a given selection of cabin type, deck, and section. In that case, I will gladly stand corrected.

Edited January 22, 2019 by bluemarble

[July1963]

I see the same thing Bluemarble. I checked through most decks/areas for a sheltered balcony Transatlantic July 14th from Southampton. I also could only see 10 available in each area. I was hoping to get a feel of how booked out the ship is but that is not possible with this system, probably by design.

[old fool]

It's simple ---- avoid at all costs the new Cunard web site. It's a pile of rubish.

[bluemarble]

My recent experience booking a roundtrip crossing from New York for April 21-May 5 of this year might be of some help to this discussion. The full 14-day voyage (M909A) is "Sold Out" on the US website. However, the two separate 7-day crossings (M909 and M910) still have quite a bit of availability and are being offered as part of the "Sailing Soon Savings" promotion in the US. The eastbound crossing has some especially good fares in the US which is what enticed me to book this somewhat last-minute voyage (as two separate crossings).

 

Here's the kicker. I was able to book the same cabin (a sheltered balcony) for both of the individual crossings and found quite a few other examples on the Cunard website where the same cabin was available for both crossings. So, the full 14-day roundtrip voyage isn't actually sold out in the conventional sense.

 

I think this helps demonstrate what Underwatr said earlier about cabin inventory being allocated to specific voyages. Apparently all the cabins assigned to the full 14-day roundtrip voyage have been sold with plenty of availability remaining for the cabins assigned to the individual crossings. I'm sure Cunard would reallocate some cabins to the full 14-day voyage at some point if they felt the need to do so, but as of now they have not.